


Vi and Rita, Sitting in a Tree...

by PhandomPhreak



Series: Bear, Lion, and Smol Light [5]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: F/F, M/M, Multi, Phan Fluff, Phanfiction, Protective Dan, Teen Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-18
Updated: 2017-03-20
Packaged: 2018-10-06 21:43:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10345170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhandomPhreak/pseuds/PhandomPhreak
Summary: Vi gets paired with her crush to work on a school project. Throw in some protective Dan and relaxed Phil, and you've got a pretty good story.





	1. Partner Project

Phil’s P.O.V.

     “Vi? What’s up?” I said in acknowledgement that she was home from school when she burst through the door of the lounge. She was flushed and her hair that was in a messy bun was falling loose. “…The girl I said I thought was cu- er- nice at school… We got paired to work on a project…” she mumbled breathlessly. “Oh sweetie! Urm, wow! How-how are you feeling about that?” She shook her head as she flopped over onto my lap. I took her hair out and played with it absentmindedly, making sure not to tangle it up, while I thought of what to say next. “Well… Is this a project you have to work on at school, or at home?” I finally said after a couple minutes of awkward silence. “Home,” her voice was barely a whisper. “Oh… Would you work on it here or at her house?” I secretly hoped they’d work on it here so I could keep an eye on Vi- I know! It seems invasive and overprotective but I can’t help it, I’m her father! “Umm, she gave me her number and told me to text her about it. She said we could do it wherever works best, but her house is noisy because he has a big family,” she unfolded a piece of paper that she pulled from her pocket that I assumed held the number of this girl. “Ok, well tell her it’s fine if you guys want to do it here,” I said as Vi sat up to fish her phone out of her bag so she could add the number to her contacts. “What’s her name?” “Uh, Rita.” “Ooh, I like that name!” I giggled. Vi rolled her eyes and typed out a message to Rita. “Oh, she responded quickly,” she said under her breath, hope dancing in her eyes. “She asked if she could come over tomorrow to talk about how we want to do the project and get to know me!” I could tell she was trying to keep her cool, but I heard her breath quicken and saw the small smile that tugged at the corners of her lips. She looked at me for approval and I nodded and said, “Sure, sounds ok to me. Why don’t you check with Papa first?” Suddenly, she got a little nervous and said, “Oh, ok…” before padding off to find Dan who was editing in the office. I knew why she was a little anxious: Dan was a _bit_ awkward when it came to things like this with Vi. Like the whole ordeal at Starbucks? I went silent when I heard them talking, trying to make out what they were saying. After a few minutes, they came down and Vi seemed triumphant and giddy, while Dan looked kind of anxious and almost sad. “Hey my two loves. Are we expecting Miss Rita tomorrow?” I said brightly. “Yep! She’ll come home with me after school and stay until 7 so her aunt can pick her up. Is it alright for me to give them our address?” she said, practically bouncing with glee. “Of course! Did her parents want to chat with us or is everything ok?” I checked since some parents liked to know that where they’re child would be staying was safe, understandably. “Nope, they’re ok. Everything is set then!” she said happily before dashing off to her room, presumably to clean the little mess that she had. I looked at Dan, who had said nothing this whole time. “Are you ok, Bear?” I rubbed his arm as he sat down beside me. “Just worried…” he sighed. “About what?” He looked at me and said, “I don’t want Vi to be hurt. I don’t want this girl to break her heart. You know that she’s a hopeless romantic!” “Oh, Bear. I’m sure everything will be ok. We don’t know her sexuality so we have no way of knowing what’ll happen, or how much Vi will say, but I feel like everything will work out,” held his hand. “Now are you sure that there’s nothing else you’re worried about?” I wanted to make sure he was really ok with everything. “Yeah… Thank you,” he gave me a soft kiss before heading back to the office to finish editing. I couldn’t think about anything other than how tomorrow would pan out for everybody…


	2. Meeting Rita

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of Rita's first visit to the Howell-Lester home

Phil’s P.O.V.

     I heard giggling followed by two pairs of feet approaching the lounge, so I nudged Dan and we stood up, making one last check that we were presentable. I held Dan’s hand in mine, calming him down so we could make a good impression on our daughter’s crush. The door swung open to reveal two beaming girls. I smiled as I took in how they looked together. Rita was very tall and slender, kind of lanky like us. She had a kind of short, androgynous hairstyle with a beanie covering her black, curly locks. It was like a really pretty mix between mine and Dan’s hair! She had a tan complexion and freckles dotting her nose and cheeks, and she wore large, round, hipsterish glasses. I couldn’t help but notice the endless doodles on her hands. She gave off a very confident vibe, and I could already tell she was a very bubbly and friendly person. She and Vi looked like polar opposites, but they were seemingly getting along. Through their laughter, Vi introduced us. “Rita, these are my dads, Dan and Phil, (you probably know them),” she motioned to each of us in turn and we waved, “Dad, Papa, this is Rita.” Rita grinned and nodded, “Hi! Nice to meet you. Sorry I’m a little bit loud and crazy,” she chuckled, “Thanks for having me over! What should I call you guys?” “Oh, Dan and Phil are just fine, Rita. Pleasure to meet you,” I extended my hand which she grabbed and shook happily as she did Dan next. “So, are you guys going to start your project?” Dan tried to start a conversation. Rita’s smile never wavered as she explained that they were just going to get to know each other and talk about some concepts for the project today, and actually start it next week since their deadline wasn’t for about a month before following Vi into her room. Dan sighed and sunk back onto the couch. “Bear, are you ok?” “Yeah, just worried still…” “What is there to be worried about? She’s such a sweet girl! She seems very outgoing and confident- there’s nothing wrong with that, is there?” I already liked Rita, but now wondered what Dan thought of her. “No, but Vi is a very soft spoken person. What if she just gives into whatever Rita wants and doesn’t get to really participate?” Dan looked at me with his warm eyes that looked not-so-warm at the moment. “Dan, I doubt that will happen. Vi might be a little shy, but when she feels like she has something to say, she’ll say it. You worry too much,” I pecked his curls and rested my chin on his head while he sat in between my legs. We watched TV on low volume and listened to the muffled conversation that didn’t seem to end from the other room. There was an occasional outburst of laughter, which was good. I even heard Vi playing the piano for Rita, which was surprising as that was usually something she did privately. I heard Rita singing, too. “They’re getting along very well, aren’t they?” I said to a very tense Dan. “Vi really opened up to her fast.” “Er, yeah,” Dan muttered, not looking up from his phone. Then it got kind of quiet which worried me. I listened before hearing a loud, “Really? Oh cool, I’m pan sexual!” Dan’s head shot up at this, and he stared at me wide eyed. Their conversation continued in the background like nothing had happened, but something clearly had. “Vi just came out to someone she’s only known for a couple of days! And it’s her _crush_!” Dan whisper shouted. “Dan, you know she’s comfortable sharing her sexuality, so that shouldn’t be a surprise. And so what if it’s her crush? It could be her way of trying to move forward and drop hints, or it could be that she felt her new friend should know about it. It really isn’t such a big deal, I don’t think you need to be this over-reactive.” I said truthfully. He looked down quietly and I hoped that he didn’t take what I said too harshly. “I’m sorry, you’re right. I’m getting worked up over nothing,” he said after a moment. “It’s ok, Bear. I understand why you feel the way you do. Now let’s make sure we don’t mention anything about that later. They still have a few hours until Rita goes home.” He nodded and relaxed for the first time since Vi first told him about Rita yesterday.


	3. Perfect Pair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vi and Rita talking and stuff...

Vi’s P.O.V.

     “Hey girls! We ordered pizza, it should be here soon,” Dad poked his head in the door. “Ok, thanks!” We smiled as he closed the door again. It had felt great just letting Rita know I’m lesbian, and knowing that she was pan made me so hopeful! _Ohmygod I might_ actually _have a slight chance with her!_ What a cliche- getting paired for a school project with my crush. Imagine if she actually fell in love with me, too! We have so much in common, it’s incredible. We talked about all sorts of trivial things, and some personal things, too. I didn’t expect to be this close with her after talking for a few hours, or even at all, for that matter! It’s safe to say that I can’t deny my crush for her now. She has a gorgeous voice, too. (Much better than my super high one…) She had sang along to a couple songs I played- it was really fun! At least I knew we would be close friends for sure, and I was ok if we didn’t move past that. Rita is funny and bright- a real natural at interacting with people (something I _struggle_ with). We don’t seem to have much in common at a glance, but we really do if you take a closer look. At dinner, she was super friendly to my dads. She did know who they were, but didn’t make a huge deal out of it. That made me happy. I mean sure, we’re kind of a famous family, but we’re still people who live on planet Earth. Most kids at school who tried to talk to me always freaked out when I mentioned my parents were Dan and Phil, but Rita just carried on like it was nothing. “So Rita, Vi said you had a big family. Tell us about them!” Dad prompted as we finished our pizza. “Umm let’s see… There’s my mom, dad, my older brother and sister, me, my three little siblings- two boys and a baby girl- and my aunt and her kid that’s my age moved in with us a few months ago,” she listed off her family members. “Wooow. I don’t know if I could handle so much human interaction!” Papa joked. Rita laughed and responded, “Well, I spend a lot of time in my (shared) room with my cousin and older sister. They all understand that everyone needs space after we spend time with the little kids, but sometimes it gets so bad that I have to go to the park or something.” I looked at her with awe and said, “How do you do it? That’s insane! There’s no way I could take all of that.” Rita shrugged and said, “You learn to distance and assert yourself pretty quickly. It’s not as bad as it sounds,” she giggled at the shocked expression on all of our faces. “Well, you girls still have about an hour before your aunt arrives, right Rita?” Dad checked. “Mmhm,” she nodded. “Alright well let us know if you need anything,” he said brightly as we stood up. “Ok, thanks!” I kissed my dads’ cheeks before leading Rita back to my room. “Your dads are so nice!” she said as we flopped back down on my bed. “Yeah, they’re pretty great… Your whole family seems like fun, too!” “They’re a little crazy, but there’s no such thing as a perfectly normal family, am I right?” she grinned at me. “Amen,” I smiled back. “I really had fun, thanks for having me over!” she sat up. “Thanks for coming! Glad I could help you escape your busy life for a few hours,” I chuckled. “Yeah. I can’t wait to start working on the project, too!” “Me neither! Who knew I’d meet my first real friend through a random pairing for a school project?” I sighed happily. “I know. I have a couple friends, but no close ones. I actually transferred here last term, not long before you,” she explained. “Oh really? Wow, well I hope we can become even closer!” I beamed. “Me too!” she grinned right back. “By the way, did I say that I love hearing you speak? It’s so funny and different!” Rita poked my cheek playfully. “Well, I’d say the same about you, but I’m already used to hearing it everywhere now,” I poked her back. “I’m so glad we got partnered up!” she squealed and hugged me tightly all of a sudden. I laughed and hugged her back saying, “You took the words right out of my mouth!”


	4. Bye for Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vi and Rita part and Vi starts overthinking things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is super short, just kind of a bridge I guess... More coming soon!

Vi’s P.O.V.

     I didn’t think I’d be so sad to see Rita leave. I had only known her for a couple days and we instantly hit it off, but it felt as if I had already known her my whole life. Cheesy, yes, but true. Rita’s aunt was just as friendly as she was, smiling and thanking my dads for having her over. “Well, I can’t wait to see you on Monday,” I said shyly as I walked her to the car. “Yeah, we should hang out at lunch!” she said excitedly. “Definitely!” … “Bye for now, thanks again!” Rita hugged me tightly like she had in my room earlier, but this one felt different… “No problem, bye,” I waved as she drove off. I guess I was kind of spaced out because Papa tapped my shoulder and said, “Hellooo? Earth to Vi!” “Huh? Oh sorry, we can go back in now…” I said plastering a small smile on my face. I went to my room, trying to analyze that hug. _That was probably her just thanking me physically. Or maybe that was an “I’m so glad we’re friends” hug… Maybe that was an “I secretly love you” hug. Could it be?_ I sighed. _No. No no no. Come on, snap out of it! It was just a hug. She barely got to know you today- she isn’t in love with you!_ I mentally yelled at myself. Then I heard soft knocking on my door.


	5. Head-Over-Heels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's too late to deny that Vi has a crush on Rita

Dan’s P.O.V.

     Vi had been a little extra quiet once Rita left. She was acting weird and day-dreamy. She went right to her room once we went back inside and I had heard her pacing. I stood by her room for a moment with Phil. “Vi? Are you ok?” I knocked gently on her door. “Yeah… Yeah I’m fine…” she muttered. It seemed like she said that more to herself than to me… “Are you sure? You don’t seem very convincing,” Phil said, a little concerned. “What? Do you want me to write an argumentative essay on why I’m fine or something?” she snapped. We were both a little taken aback. “What was _that_ about?” I whispered to Phil. “I’m just as confused as you. But if I had to guess, it probably has to do with Rita…” he whispered back. I heard Vi sigh before apologizing quietly, “Sorry, that was uncalled for…” “It’s alright. Mind if we come in?” Phil asked cautiously. “Sure, I don’t mind.” We opened the door slowly and sat on either side of her on the floor by her bed. “So, Rita is very sweet, isn’t she?” Phil started. “Mmhm. And funny, and energetic, and optimistic, and just so… Well for lack of a better word, _nice_.” Vi rambled. “Yeah, I’m glad you guys got along!” I said truthfully. I really liked Rita. I don’t know what exactly I was expecting her to be like, but she was better than whatever that was. “So how come the gloominess, Smol Light?” Phil placed his large hand over her dainty one. “I dunno… I’m just sad she left?” She didn’t sound sure of herself. “But you’ll see her at school in a couple days. And you can text her you know,” I pointed out. “Ok _fine_ you got me. I was just…” she sighed again, “confused…”. “About what, sweetie?” I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and she leaned her head on my arm. “Well, it’s my own fault for confusing myself. I was just reading into our hug too much,” she shrugged. “I can understand that. Wanna tell us about it or do you want us to leave it?” Phil patted her hand comfortingly. “Maybe later. All I know is that I’m already head-over-heels for her and there’s no turning back,” she leaned her head back against the foot-board of her bed, eyes closed. Maybe she didn’t even realize it, but I saw the small smile that lingered on her face for a moment.


	6. Shocked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan decides to check on the girls at the wrong moment

Dan’s P.O.V.

     It had been about two weeks and the girls’ project was going really well. So was their friendship. Rita came about three or four times a week, and neither me nor Phil minded. She was a joy to have around, and Vi was happy when she was by her side. I had noticed that each day, they were closer and more comfortable with each other. I figured they hung out a lot at school, too. They became closer than I could’ve imagined, especially for the small amount of time they’d spent together. I guess sometimes people were meant for each other and just click. I should know… But it was Thursday, now, and the project was due Friday. I knew Vi was sad that she wouldn’t see her best friend after school almost everyday, and honestly, so was I. I knew they’d still hang out at school and maybe every once and awhile on weekends, but things wouldn’t be the same without her. Ha, it’s funny that I became attached to my daughter’s friend. Anyway, Rita came over one last time to work on finishing touches, and things were definitely subdued. They were solemn and quiet. They still laughed and talked, but they were sad that their project was coming to a close. I could sense it. But I could also sense a tension between them- though it wasn’t necessarily bad. They were working in the lounge instead of Vi’s room today. They had been giggling for a while when things went extra quiet. I decided to take a peek and check to see if they were ok quickly, since the door was open. I was shocked. I saw them sitting on the couch, Rita holding my precious daughter close, their lips pressed together. _Their lips pressed together._ I stood paralyzed for a moment, unable to avert my eyes. Suddenly a hand was blocking my view and another covering my mouth and I was being pulled back into the bedroom. I was released and fell onto the bed, still incapable of doing anything but staring and muttering gibberish. “Ri- ohmyg- they- Vi- jesus- they KISSED!” my voice was thick with emotion. Phil held me in his lap as I could hardly process anything. “Ssssh! They can’t know we know! Just- just wait until Vi tells us herself. We should also wait and see what the whole outcome of this is,” Phil explained what to do since I was a clueless, blubbering mess of a father. “My daughter…” Tears pricked my eyes. What would happen next?!


	7. The Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How the kiss happened from Vi's perspective

Vi’s P.O.V.  
Shocked. Elated. Content. Loved. Those were the most prominent of many feelings I experienced. We had been sitting on the couch, talking about nothing important when Rita surprised me and looked into my eyes said, “I’m lucky to have met you.” I figured she meant that she was glad we were such close friends, but that wasn’t all of it. “Yeah, me too,” I smiled softly. The air was electric. I would have never thought of what would happen next. She swept me up from my spot on the couch and sat me on her lap with my legs straddling her waist in the blink of an eye. (I guess it helps that I hardly weigh anything.) As swiftly as she had done that, she pulled me in and crashed her full, soft lips into my small, chapped ones. It was gentle, yet passionate. I was so stunned, I didn’t do anything for a moment. But it didn’t take long before I closed my eyes and (almost physically) melted into the kiss. She held me close and ran her hands through the whole length of my long hair, while I twirled her curls in between my fingers with one hand and held her chin in the other. I never wanted it to end, but sadly, breathing is a necessity. We both begrudgingly pulled away panting, our faces flushed. I grinned from ear to ear as did Rita. “I instantly noticed you on your first day. I thought you looked cute and innocent, but I could tell there was more to you. I wanted to talk to you, to introduce myself. But I couldn’t. My ‘friends’ always pulled me away before I ever got a chance. Then we got partnered up. I was scared. But we became friends. Now we are inseparable. You are the first real friend I’ve had in my 13 years of being alive. But I quickly fell in love with you not long after we first hung out. When you had said you weren’t straight the first day we talked, that struck something inside me. I think it was hope. And seeing you makes me happier than anything else. I love you, Vi.” I welled up at Rita’s version of the story. “Sounds very similar to my experience, you know?” I giggled, pressing my forehead to hers. “Guess we were just meant to be, huh?” she said, softly laying a hand on my cheek. I softly pecked her nose and said, “I certainly think so.” “Do I even have to ask?” Rita giggled. “No, I don’t think so,” I kept playing with her bouncy curls. “Good. My first girlfriend…” she kissed me on the lips again and I couldn’t really kiss back properly because I was too busy grinning like a fool. “Mine too,” I said through my giggles. “I love you so much,” we said in unison. We burst out laughing so hard and loud that we were practically rolling on the couch. “Ahem. Well you girls seem to be having a lot of fun!” Dad’s voice brought me back to Earth. “Yeah!” we tried to calm ourselves down as we wiped away our happy tears. Rita grabbed my hand and said, “More than you can know…” We looked into each other’s eyes and saw nothing but love. “Well you aunt should be coming to pick you up any minute, so be ready,” Dad smiled before heading back to his room. And leaving us to snuggle for a bit before my girlfriend had to go home.


	8. Happy for You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil tries to get Vi to tell them what happened herself, and it just leads to some roughhousing and cuddles.

Phil’s P.O.V.

     Vi was giddy all night. She couldn’t stop smiling, her eyes dancing with light. Occasionally she’d giggle and her fingers would float to her lips. The three of us were sitting on the sofa and Dan looked like we was about to explode, so I took the hint and broke the silence. “So, Smol Light, you seem very happy. I bet you’re glad your project went well, huh?” She looked up from her daze, a bit confused but still blissful. “Hmm? Oh yeah, sure…” she said, her cheeks tinted pink ever so slightly. “You’re lucky to have gotten paired with Rita. You guys are such good friends now!” I tried to prompt her to say what we wanted her to say. Dan still sulked next to me. “Heh, yyeeaah. Yeah!” she giggled nervously. Dan looked at me, his expression mixed between sadness, hurt, curiosity, and some other things. “…Dooo you think you’ll ever tell her you have a crush on her? You still do, don’t you?” I was worried I was pushing it, but her joy didn’t waver. “No. I won’t ever have to,” she said, obviously pleased with herself. “Why is that???” I was going to keep going as long as I could with the questions until she admitted to what happened. “Oh, she already knows.” I was getting tired of this, but still continued. “She does? But you said you didn’t tell her! Did she figure it out?” Dan closed his eyes and sighed. This was obviously killing him, but I didn’t know why. I thought he’d be happy for her like I was. “Umm… She didn’t.” Now this was getting a bit annoying. “But you said she knows! How else would she know?!” It was hard for me to keep my voice down. Vi seemed smug- like she knew this was getting to us and was being vague on purpose. “Wow, you still haven’t completely lost it yet? Good job. As a reward, I’ll spare you and just tell you why I’m so happy. Didn’t I tell you that if I wanted to talk about something, I’d bring it up? There’s no need to prompt me,,” she laughed. “WHAT?! VI! YOU- ARGH!” I wanted to be mad, but it was kind of funny so my “yelling” wasn’t very passionate. Dan had sat up, surprised. Vi giggled before proceeding to tell us about how Rita had secretly harbored feelings for her, too, and had initiated their first kiss. “And now we’re girlfriends!” she finished proudly. It wasn’t very hard to be surprised since I only knew about the kiss, not what happened before or after. Dan remained gloomy while I said, “Oh my god, Smol Light! I’m so happy for you!” and throwing my arms around her. “But don’t forget- we loved you first, and we love you more, and we always will.” I kissed her forehead gently. “Eeeewww, Daaaad!” she squealed playfully, pretending to wipe off the kiss like a little kid. “Bear, what’s wrong?” I turned to my lover who had turned so his back was to us, curled up on himself. “You don’t seem very excited about Vi’s good news…” he sighed and tried to wipe away a few stray tears without us noticing, but of course we still noticed and Vi climbed in between us and flung her small body over his large one, barely covering him. “Hey, I promise I won’t stop loving you. Why would I? You don’t have to worry about me! You don’t need to worry about me leaving you behind. I’ll always know that you love me more than any girl could, ok? I’ll always be yours, and I’ll always be with you…” she whispered as she rested her chin on his shoulder, nuzzling his cheek with her head. Suddenly Dan turned around and engulfed her in a huge hug, sobbing into her soft hair. She returned the hug and rubbed soothing circles on his back, letting him cry and hold her like she was all he had left. It was so cute and touching, I felt tears pricking my eyes, too. “Smol Light…” Dan breathed heavily. Then he looked up and made eye contact with me, a hint of mischief twinkling in the warm, brown eyes that always made my heart swell. He winked before falling onto his back, pulling a squealing Vi with him. He planted kisses all over her face and she laughed, pretending to be grossed out like she had with me earlier. “Papaaaaa! I get iiit! You love me, bleh!” she stuck her tongue out and poked his nose. He placed his hand over her face, covering pretty much all of it, “Sticking your tongue out at me isn’t how you say ‘I love you’, for the record.” “Haaa haaa. Veeerrryyy funny,” her voice was muffled by Dan’s hand. “My turn!” I yelled before grabbing Vi out of Dan’s arms and doing the same as he had done. “NOOO! Not again!” she screeched, unable to control her laughter. Dan gave an indignant, “Hey!” and took her back, snuggling her like a teddy bear. “No! We share!” I said, snuggling up on the other side of our daughter who rolled her eyes and said, “Ladies! Ladies! There’s plenty of me to go around!” We all laughed and held onto each other for a while before she wriggled out of our grip and said, “See? Even if I wanted to- which I never would- you guys wouldn’t let me go.” She winked and skipped off to her room. “Vi wait,” Dan called out as she was about to exit the lounge. She turned, a playfully inquisitive look on her face. “I’m happy for you,” he smiled at her fondly before she stuck her tongue out again and skipped off. ~


End file.
